Carina Rose Black, The First Year
by Katie80-90Thousand
Summary: Carina Black is about to get proof that she's NOT a freak. She's about to enter a world where, far from being hated, she is hailed as a hero: the girl who lived. But what's this... a godfather? A hat that sorts? Dragons? Trolls? Edited 12/18/2008
1. Questions, Answers, Questions

Chapter One: Carina Goes To Diagon Alley

"Girl! Get up and cook breakfast!" Carina sighed and set the heavy book down, hiding it in a corner so if her uncle by chance looked in, he wouldn't see it.

"I'm coming, Aunt Petunia," she said, trying not to sound annoyed or angry. It wouldn't help her to get hit this early in the morning.

Petunia sneered at her, "It's your birthday, freak," she hissed, "Don't expect anything from us, you little brat."

This had become tradition since Carina had started kindergarten and discovered that she _had_ a birthday. She had come home and asked innocently why they never did anything for her birthday, which had caused the first beating she'd received from Vernon. So for the past five years since her sixth birthday, they reminded her that it was her birthday and she would never get anything for it in her life. Pleasant bunch of people, really, Carina thought sarcastically.

"Girl!" Vernon shouted, "Get the post!"

Carina rolled her eyes, but went to get the post anyway. To her immense surprise, there was a letter for her in the pile. Using the brains she hid well, she hid the letter and handed the rest of the post to Vernon.

Hours later, in the cupboard, eleven year old Carina Black discovered just why it was that she was a 'freak' and could control things that no one else could. Such as her hair and eyes and height – she would be a midget due to malnutrition from her lack of food were it not for the fact that she'd forced herself to grow a bit.

A small smirk grew on her face and she forced her red hair blonde and her gray-green eyes bright blue, plus grew a few inches and shifted her face shape to look older. No one would expect a blonde haired, blue eyed fourteen year old girl in… where did the letter say? …ah, Diagon Alley. No one would notice her. It would be absolutely perfect.

Carina was frowning. She didn't want a wand that shared a core with the wizard who had killed her parents. On top of that, she couldn't find any information _anywhere_ about the man named James Potter that was mentioned in her parents letter to her in the trust vault.

Her parents had said that people thought he was the secret keeper (which meant that he was the only person who could tell where they were … it was illegal to tell someone that didn't have permission from the people being protected where they were) and that if they were dead, the true secret keeper, Peter Pettigrew, had given away the secret. It said to make sure that if it was at all possible, this James man (who was also her godfather) was proven innocent.

A smirk made it's way onto Carina's face. She knew who to talk to. The letter had described him in two ways: her mother thought the man was a good friend, and her father appeared to either hate the man or enjoy bickering with him. Keith Lestrange. Books she had skimmed indicated that he was the one good member of the Lestrange family and that he was quite popular in his time at Hogwarts as a Ravenclaw. _Who knew you'd find so much personal information in books. I get the feeling that's going to be a problem for me_, Carina mused.

"Lestrange Manor!" Carina shouted into the newly discovered Floo system. There was only one Lestrange not dead or in Azkaban, so it would be safe enough.

"Mr. Keith Lestrange?" Carina inquired of the man standing in front of her five minutes later.

"Yeah?" the man asked gruffly, before looking at her, "Rina?"

"Huh? My name is Carina Black." The man nodded, "I know that."

"What do you know about James Potter?" Carina was only subtle when it fit her needs, and as it was, now wasn't one of those times.

"I think he's innocent but I'm likely the only one to think so," Keith said quietly, "Even his friend, Remus Lupin, thinks he's guilty –or, he doesn't want to but thinks that the proof is foolproof. The idiot should be able to see it…"

"I know," a tired voice called out as a man walked into the room, "You think he's innocent but as much as I want to agree, I'm not putting myself up for another disappointment."

"Well," Carina said, clearing her throat, "I know that he didn't betray my parents."

Both men stared at her in shock.

Carina beamed amusedly, "He couldn't have if he'd wanted to – Peter Pettigrew was their secret keeper, and thus, James Potter couldn't have if he'd tried. I don't know anything else about the situation, but that's what I learned in a letter in my vault."

"They also think he killed Peter and twelve muggles," Remus explained, and Keith took over, "I disagree with that, too. Pettigrew was an animagus and could easily have set James up. Very easily," he said, glaring lightly at Remus who returned it.

"Not that I'm not enjoying your banter," Carina said, smirking, "But I'd like to know whether or not m godfather is innocent. Honestly, did you people not even ensure that he got a trial?"

"I tried," Keith said, and Remus nodded his agreement, "They told us it was private but we found out later they never gave him one."

"That's ridiculous!" Carina protested, "Why would they do something like that? That _has_ to be illegal! Oh, heads are going to _roll_ when I'm done with those bastards…"

Keith and Remus both looked like they'd seen a ghost.

"What?" she snapped.

"You sounded exactly like your mother," Remus said in shock, looking amused.

"You do," Keith agreed, "It's kind of scary."

Carina rolled her eyes. If they wouldn't help her, she'd do it on her own.


	2. Blackmail And Intimidation

Chapter Two: Carina Goes To The Ministry

"Look, lady," Carina snapped, "I don't think you understand what you're saying. I am _going_ to talk with the head of law enforcement around here, or _you're_ going to lose your job and never find work again, understood?" Being away from her relatives had done Carina a lot of good in the intimidation area.

"Fine," the woman snapped, "But it's on your head when she's pissed at me."

Carina snorted in a very unladylike manner as the woman led her back to an office and opened the door, "Enjoy."

"Thank you, ma'am," Carina said.

"What do you know?" The woman muttered as she left, "The brat _does_ have manners." Carina fought the urge to sneer at the woman.

"Hello," Carina said, looking at the desk for a name, "Madam Bones."

"Hello…?"

"Carina Black, ma'am, and I have a proposal," Carina said, an evil smirk on her face.

"Oh?"

"Yes. _You_ get my godfather the trial he never had or _I_ get you sued so badly your ministry will never be the same again."

Madam Bones' eyes widened, "James Potter did have a trial."

"Really? Because I'm doubting that, seeing as I have information that he's at least partially innocent, and you're _going_ to need to pick an option."

Madam Bones wasn't stupid. She knew that the Black girl could easily sue the ministry and no one would be able to do anything to stop her. Option one sounded good. She pressed the button that contacted an Auror on duty at Azkaban.

"Auror Jones," she snapped.

"Yes, Madam Bones?"

"Get James Potter and bring him to the holding cells in the ministry. No harm should come to him, it's on _your_ job," she snapped.

Meanwhile, Carina was considering the apparent talents she had in coercion, blackmailing and intimidation. She would definitely have to work with that. It could come in handy.

"Yes, ma'am," the Auror said, sounding fearful.

"Criminal hearing on the tenth of August, into offenses of murder and betrayal of Fidelius by James Achilles Potter," Madam Bones announced, "Interrogators: Auror Hestia Jones, Auror Kingsley Shackelbolt, and Cornelius Oswald Fudge. Court Scribe, Hannah Jane Keith."

"The charges against the accused are as follows. That he did knowingly, deliberately, and in full control of himself, betray the secret of a Fidelius Charm to an enemy, and commit thirteen counts of murder on Peter Allan Pettigrew, James Thomas, Andrew Thomas, Hailey Andrews, Jasmine Andrews, Kara Thompson, Lionel Barrette, Michael Reed, Patricia Old, Chloe Jameson, Eric Stewart, Garret Frost, Maria Grass."

Carina's jaw dropped from where she was watching. Thirteen sounded a lot bigger when there were names to the numbers.

"Administer the Veritaserum," Bones intoned.

An Auror did so and Shackelbolt started questioning in his deep voice. "You are James Potter, having resides in Azkaban prison since 1981?"

"Yes," James said.

"Were you the Black's secret keeper?"

"No."

There was shock on everyone except Carina, who smirked, enjoying the show.

"Did you tell Voldemort where the Black's were hiding?" Shackelbolt asked. The guy was obviously convinced of James' guilt, making Carina shake her head in disgust.

"No."

"Are you a death eater?" Shackelbolt tried again.

"No."

"Have you ever served Voldemort?"

"No."

"Did you kill Peter Pettigrew?"

"No, but I tried."

Carina felt the urge to laugh at that. She had a feeling that James was not proud of the fact that he hadn't managed to kill Pettigrew.

"Did you kill twelve muggles?"

"No."

"Have you ever used an unforgivable curse?"

"No."

Shackelbolt sighed, "Lastly, do you know who the Black's secret keeper was?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

Another Auror administered the Veritaserum antidote, and about half an hour later, James Potter was a free man with a whole lot more money to his name for compensation.

"Hello," Carina greeted, "You probably want a shower – god knows I would – but I figured you'd want to know who arranged your trial."

"_Rina_?" James asked incredulously. "You look so much like your mother," he said wistfully.

"I've been told," Carina said wryly. "At any rate, I thought you'd like to know a few things, Keith Lestrange believed in your innocence and Remus Lupin was quite torn. So you _do_ have friends left in the world."

"How'd you get me a trial?"

Carina smirked, "I threatened the head of Magical law enforcement."

James stared and then laughed, "You look like your mother, but you've got your fathers personality through and through."

Carina laughed lightly, but inwardly wondered why people felt the need to constantly compare her to her dead parents. It was slightly annoying. Carina considered this for a second. She had never been one to hide her feelings or thoughts around anyone other than the Dursley's and their friends, so why was she doing it now? "Why do you compare me to them?" she asked quietly, "I know they were your friends, and I know you loved them and haven't had time to grieve for them, but I am not my mother or my father. I'm me. Just me."

James stared at her and sighed, "I'm sorry."

Carina shrugged. "It's okay. It was just beginning to get annoying. Your blubbering idiotic friends were too busy comparing me to my mother to come along and help me get you a trial. Apparently I'm _just like my mother_. I've got her temper or somethin'."

James shuddered and Carina cracked a smile.


	3. Happiness At Home

Chapter Three: Carina Goes Home

"This," James announced with a smile, "Is Potter Manor. If you decide to stay with me, this is where we'll live."

Carina rolled her eyes. _Drama king, anyone… who else would I stay with? There's no way in hell I'm going back to the Dursley's_! "Where else would I be going? Back to Privet Drive? Not a chance in hell, James."

James grinned at her. "That bad, were they?"

Carina nodded her head adamantly. "'Specially Vernon and Dudley, the obese pigs."

James snickered. "Want to see your room?"

"Obviously," Carina answered, and James led her up the stairs and turned right.

"To the left is guest rooms, and directly in front of us is the Master Suite, other members of the family get the rooms on the right. And yes, I am aware how overdone this place is, but it's been in my family for longer than anyone is sure of." James explained.

At the third door he pointed his wand at it and murmured something in Latin. "Now just touch it and it will change to fit your tastes. Gotta love magical houses."

Carina looked at him oddly but did as requested and blinked in shock as the previously white door turned a soft light purple with a dark blue rose in the center of it.

James looked at her in amusement, and Carina snapped her mouth shut as she realized she was quite literally gaping at it.

"Go ahead, 'Rina, look inside," James invited.

Uneasily, Carina pushed open the door. The whole room was almost entirely made up of those two colors, though there were a few varying shades of them. The comforter on the bed was the opposite of the door, dark blue with light purple roses patterned on it. There were three bookshelves lined up on one of the walls, taking pretty much the entire wall, in the order of purple-blue-purple. The walls were painted a tie-dye-ish mix of blues and purples. There was a large dresser, which was painted light blue and had a mirror on top of it. The nightstand was a dark purple, and the ceiling was painted like the night-sky, but no charms as she had read about. There was a walk in closet that Carina didn't investigate very closely as she was too busy hugging her godfather and muttering repeated thank-you's to him.

"Erm… you're welcome, 'Rina," James said, a bit uncomfortably. "But I do need to be able to breathe eventually."

Carina instantly let go of her godfather. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

He grinned at her, "Don't worry about me, 'Rina, I'm fine. Besides, I'm the one who is supposed to worry about _you_."

Carina rolled her eyes, though she could admit that James had a point. It just wasn't something she was used to, the idea of someone else taking care of her. She'd been taking care of herself for longer than she could remember, why would someone care _now_? Not something she could easily wrap her mind around.

Uh-oh, James was looking worried now. "What's wrong, 'Rina?"

"Nothing," Carina mumbled. "Just not used to having someone care about me."

James grinned a bit cockily, "You'd better get used to it, 'cause I don't intend to go anywhere! You're stuck with me, Carina Rose Black."

Carina smiled at him hesitantly. She could get used to this, she thought, it was kind of nice.

By the time September 1st came around, Carina was used to Potter manor, and used to being around James and starting to accept that he cared about her for real. It was hard to believe the everything that had happened in the last two months had actually happened.


	4. Letters To Home

Chapter Four: Carina Sends Letters Home

_September 2__nd__ 1991_

Dear James,

_I was sorted into Ravenclaw, just as you predicted, and I've made friends with another girl, Hermione Granger. She's in the same year and house as me, but is a bit disappointed, because she wanted to be a Gryffindor. From what I've seen of her, it seems like they would have teased her a lot, because she's smart and loves books even more than I do!_

_There is a boy in Gryffindor who I'm already starting to dislike, and the boy you told me about, my cousin, Malfoy, is an absolute prat! He was sorted into Slytherin just like you thought, as well. They are like almost exact copies of each other, except Weasley hates Slytherin and everything that __might__ be about them, and Malfoy hates Gryffindor and everything that __might__ be about them. If you ask me, which really, no one did, they're both prats._

_You never told me that Aunt Andromeda had more than one kid, James! She has four still in Hogwarts, and one out! Two of them are in my year, but they're Gryffindor, Ryan and Andrew Tonks. _

_Funnily enough, they agree with me that Draco Malfoy is an arrogant prat. _

_Gee, I wonder why…_

_You also never told me that 'Aunt' Bellatrix had kids! Twins, they're also in my year. Elladora and Dorea Lestrange. They're in Ravenclaw with me, but they're a bit stuck up. Apparently they were raised by the Nott family for six years before the Ministry decided that it wasn't a good home for them and then they went to Aunt Andromeda's. _

_I feel sorry for her, seven kids in one house! Scary!_

_It's kind of surreal. A few months ago, I had one aunt, an uncle by marriage, and a stuck up git of a cousin, all of whom hated me. I knew nothing about my fathers side of the family at that time, and Dursley had told me they were all dead. Now I have, including Dudders, eleven cousins. Oh, that's right, you didn't know that Draco Dearest wasn't an only child either, huh? He's got a little brother, Dominic, and an older sister, Delta. _

_If you ask me, Malfoy's are cruel. What kind of an ASS names their kid – a girl, for Merlin's sake – 'Delta'?! _

_Anyway, the cousins. From what Elladora and Dorea have told me, it's like this, oldest to youngest:_

_Nymphadora Ann Tonks --- June 6__th__ 1973_

_Elizabeth Adora Tonks --- June 16__th__ 1976_

_Delta Narcissa Malfoy --- July 17__th__ 1978_

_Michael Ted Tonks --- March 2__nd__ 1979_

_Draco Lucius Malfoy --- May 18__th__ 1980_

_Ryan Albus Tonks --- June 13__th__ 1980_

_Andrew Keith Tonks --- June 13__th__ 1980_

_Carina Rose Black --- July 31__st__ 1980_

_Elladora Regina Lestrange --- August 4__th__ 1980_

Dorea Bellatrix Lestrange --- August 5th 1980

_Dominic Abraxas Malfoy --- May 17__th__ 1982_

It's interesting how six of us were born in 1980, isn't it?

_Oh, one last thing before I go to bed and prepare for the first day of classes… Was Dad REALLY twins with Narcissa Malfoy? I mean, __really__? That was what Elladora and Dorea were saying, and I thought that was kind of weird, 'cause you never mentioned it…_

_Anyway, Hermione, Elladora, Dorea want me to shut the lights off __now__. It's kind of cool that the four of us have our own dorm, because there were so many Ravenclaw girls this year they had to split us into two. _

_So… bye. Knowing Hedwig, she'll probably wake you up in the middle of the night for this letter, she's a bit eager to please, isn't she? Oh well, I hope she doesn't disturb you __too__ much._

Love Always, Your Goddaughter, Carina Rose Black

P.S. Say hello to Uncle Keith and Uncle Remus for me!

September 3rd 1991 Dear Carina, It was really interesting to read your letter, and before I forget, yes, your dad was twins with Narcissa Malfoy, though she was a Black at the time. They were pretty close until our forth year, and have hated each other since, your Dad never told me the exact details, though. I honestly had no idea that there were so many new Black's, though I feel genuinely sorry for the teachers that have to deal with six of you for the next seven years! :-P

Bellatrix had KIDS?! Good lord, I feel sorry for them! I hope you're enjoying Hogwarts, you sound like you're having a good time.

Let me see if I've got houses right: Draco is a Slytherin, Andrew and Ryan are Gryffindor, and you, Elladora and Dorea are Ravenclaw, right? Poor Hufflepuff doesn't get any Black's!  Anyway, Remus and Keith say hello to you as well, and Keith also asks that you pass on a hello to his nieces… he was a bit startled that I didn't know about them, and that you didn't, it was kind of amusing.

What Gryffindor boy is it that you are so annoyed with? If you want, I'll get him to leave you alone.

Don't worry, I wouldn't do anything illegal, I've seen enough of Azkaban to last me forever. Anyway, I'm going to have to end this now, before Remus and Keith get their prank hexes directed in MY direction, as that would make me have to rewrite this letter entirely.

Miss you, 'Rina!

Love Always,  
Your Godfather,  
James Potter (And no, I'm not telling you my middle name, Little Miss Sneaky! :-P )  
(Missing a few letters, but assume that they were written!)

November 4th 1991  
Dear Carina,

I would dearly appreciate a letter from you explaining what the HELL that letter from Professor Flitwick was about, Carina! And soon, if you can manage it!

James Potter  
November 5th 1991  
Dear James,

It was that Weasley prat again, gods he's obnoxious! He was upset because, well, frankly, he is a brainless git, and made fun of Hermione and I. Well, I didn't really care, as I've gotten used to that kind of thing, but Hermione was really upset, and so ran off to the loo. I went with her to comfort her, and we were both in there all day (it happened on Halloween, as I'm sure the letter told you).

That was all fine, but what we missed at the feast was that there was a troll in the school. Andrew and Ryan dragged Weasley to warn us about the troll, and we all fought it off until it got knocked out. Unfortunately, we all knew that Andrew and Ryan would be in LOADS of trouble if they told the truth, so Hermione and I lied about it… told Flitwick that we thought we could take on the mountain troll on our own.

To say the least, he wasn't pleased, thus twenty-five points lost and a week of detention for both Hermione and I. Our classmates weren't all the pleased either, though that was more about the points than anything else.

Anyway, Weasley went back to being a prat almost as soon as the incident ended, so nothing changed on that front. Not really a big deal, we're all safe, and unharmed. That's all.

Your goddaughter,  
Carina Black

November 5th 1991  
Dear Carina,

I will leave it for now, but we WILL be discussing this come Christmas time, Carina Rose!

How are your classes going? Are you still getting along with all of your cousins minus Draco Malfoy?

Anymore news from Hogwarts?

I apologize if I'm sounding short, Carina, but I'm rather upset at the moment. We'll talk again when you come home for the holiday.

Love always,  
Your godfather,  
James Potter 


	5. Talks And Punishments

**Chapter Five: Carina Talks With James**

"Over here, Carina!"

Carina heard her godfather shout as she scanned the crowd at Platform 9¾ and grinned and ran over to him, hugging him. He chuckled, "It's good to see you, too, 'Rina. We're going to side-along home, it's the quickest and easiest way. We'll talk when we get there," he added, shrinking and pocketing her trunk and apparating them away.

Carina smiled in happiness to be home – and it was funny, really, that she _had_ a home now, especially one that she loved so much. It was strange, and it was nice, and she didn't think she would give it up for the world.

James grinned at her, "Take your trunk upstairs and come back down here."

Carina nodded, taking her trunk from him after he enlarged it and running up the stairs, thanking Merlin the whole way for feather-light charms. After she placed her trunk at the foot of her bed, she ran back down stairs, only to be surprised that her godfather was nowhere to be seen.

"Over here, Carina," James' voice came from… well, she wasn't sure where, but it certainly wasn't _here_, and it wasn't upstairs, either. "The closed door on your right," he added.

"Oh!" Carina exclaimed softly. Opening the door, she noticed her godfather was sitting behind a desk, which was a slightly amusing picture in her opinion, though she didn't express this due to the look on his face. "What's wrong, James?" she asked worriedly.

He stared at her, "Your letter was rather surprising to me," he said softly. "Because that is not the letter I was writing you about – I hadn't even gotten that letter from Professor Flitwick yet. Try thinking back to September 12th, Carina."

Carina's eyes widened. "Oh," she muttered.

"Yes, oh," he said evenly. "Are you going to explain?"

"Malfoy challenged me to a duel, I got angry and accepted, and Hermione, Elladora, Dorea and I got caught waiting for him because he set us up." She recited. "He'd also done the same to Andrew, Ryan, Weasley and Longbottom, so the teachers thought that it was the four of us against the four of them, and we didn't really know how else to explain it, so we let them think that…"

"Where did you get caught?" he asked in the same even voice.

Carina bit her lip, and reluctantly answered, "Third floor corridor," in a mumble.

"And what did the headmaster say about the third floor corridor at the welcoming feast," James prodded in the same voice as before.

"That it was off limits to anyone who didn't wish to die a most painful death," Carina quoted softly.

"So you not only agreed to duel with another first year after curfew with no supervision, but you dragged three other people into it, and when you tried to escape getting caught, you went somewhere that could have gotten you _killed_, and only THEN did you get caught. Explain what on earth made that sound like a good idea to you," he said, now letting some of his anger seep into his voice.

Carina winced, but didn't say anything.

"Well?" James pressed.

Unable to think of an answer, Carina just shrugged.

James sighed. "We're going to talk about this, whether you like it or not, Carina."

"Talk away," Carina snapped back, irritated. "But I'm not going to listen or respond!"

James' eyes narrowed, "Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said, James, don't pretend you didn't," Carina snapped. "It isn't that difficult to understand, I said I didn't intend to listen to you or talk to you!"

"Carina… go to your room," James said uneasily. "We'll talk about this later."

Carina glared and stormed out, and James yelled after her, "And stay in there until I come up to talk to you!"

"Whatever you say, asshole," she shot back angrily, storming up the stairs.

(James' point of view)

"Remus, Keith, I need help," James said as he sat down across from them. "I don't know what to do."

Remus looked worried, "Don't know what to do about what, Prongs?"

"Carina!" James answered irritably, relating both the conversation he had had with her moments ago and the two letters from her head of house to his two friends.

Keith looked extremely amused, and Remus looked uneasy.

"Well?" James asked. "Someone tell me what to do! I don't…" he sighed.

Keith, recovering from his amusement, answered. "Talk to her, and whatever you do decide on doing, she can't just get away with that, because if you let her, she'll think that you will let her get away with anything, and you'll never get past that."

James looked extremely uneasy. "Moony?" he asked weakly.

Remus looked sympathetic. "Sorry, Prongs, I agree with Keith."

James groaned. "Do I even have the right to punish her, anyway? I was gone from her life for ten years, she's probably already resenting me for coming into her life now…"

Remus groaned. "James, think about what you're saying! Carina was _elated_ to move in with you, and she's been elated to get to know you, and you're probably the only adult she truly respects. Think about it, if you'd gotten caught doing what she did at her age, how would _your_ parents have reacted? If they weren't there, how would your godfather have reacted?"

Uneasily, James said, "But I _knew_ them. I spent my whole life with them!"

"And this is your chance to know Carina," Remus countered. "But the respect she has for you isn't going to last long if you let her walk all over you. I'm not saying you should be super-strict, that wouldn't be you at all, but you can't let her get away with that kind of thing, especially putting herself in danger. Being angry at you when she has a reason is very different from being angry at you for absolutely no reason other than presumably chasing away her own guilt, so that wasn't right, either. But we're not the ones you should be talking to right now, Carina is."

James frowned, "She called me an asshole!"

Keith snorted in amusement.

"When did that happen? You didn't mention it before," Remus said in confusion.

"When I told her to stay in her room until I came to talk to her, she said, 'whatever you say, asshole,'" James explained. A worried look crossed his face. "Do you think she stayed up there or left just to spite me?"

"I'd suggest you go find out," Remus said gently. "And don't be either too soft or too harsh. Find a happy medium. I'd also suggest that if she did leave, you take a moment to control your anger before you talk to her." Remus added this with a small smile.

"Thanks, Remus," James said. "I'm gonna go try to talk to her."

He Floo'd back home, only to stare in shock at the sight in front of him.

(After James left, Carina's point of view.)

"He has no right," Carina muttered furiously. "He's not my father and it wasn't like I did anything that bad! Not to mention I'm sure he's done worse, more than once."

She glared furiously at her ceiling as if blaming her problems on it, and tried to NOT think about her godfather… it didn't go too well. She growled, "I give up," and stormed out of her room, slamming the door behind her and going to the end of the 'family' hallway, where the door she remembered James telling her led to the backyard was. Still glaring, she opened it and slammed it shut, storming down the stairs leading to the ground.

As soon as her feet touched the grass, she ran. She didn't know why she was running, but it felt right, and she kept running until she was exhausted. As she plopped down on the grass, she realized she had no idea where she was, or even if she was still near the manor.

Biting her lip, Carina tried to decide what to do. In all likelihood, she was lost, and wouldn't be able to find her way back on her own, and as much as she'd like to stay out here just to spite her godfather, it was really, really cold, and she hadn't grabbed a cloak or anything. "Twinkle," she whispered. This was a Potter house-elf, and James had told her that if she ever needed him and didn't know where he was, Twinkle would be able to find him for her.

"Mistress Carina! You's supposed to be in you's room!" the elf's squeaky voice shouted. "You's gots to be cold out here, Mistress."

Carina reluctantly spoke, "Can you tell James I need him? I'm lost and I don't know how to get back."

Twinkle nodded. "Twinkle goes, Mistress Carina."

(Back to James' point of view arriving home)

James gaped at the three house-elves, all of whom were beating their heads on the wall. No matter how many times he'd told them not to, they did it anyway, which he found extremely annoying, but couldn't really do anything about. "Stop!" he shouted, and all three did. "Now come over here," he said in a calmer voice. They did. "Twinkle, why were the three of your punishing yourselves?"

"Master James, Mistress Carina be's lost, and she's called Twinkle to find Master James but Twinkle couldn't find Master James!" the elf wailed.

James' eyes widened. "And where is Mistress Carina?"

The elf wailed, "Just barely within in the Potter Ward boundaries, beside the Jones' Lake."

James breathed deeply, trying to maintain his patience. "Can you show me the way to Carina?" he asked politely. "Better yet, I'll just apparate, Twinkle. And no more punishing yourselves, is that understood?"

The elves all nodded eagerly and James apparated to where he suspected Carina was.

Upon arriving, his emotions were torn between anxiety and anger. She looked freezing cold, but she hadn't been supposed to leave her room, let alone the house.

Quashing all of his thoughts on the subject, he picked up Carina (she was asleep), and apparated back into the Manor, carrying her up to her room. Just as he'd laid her on the bed and pulled off her shoes, she woke up with a moan.

(Carina's Point of View, waking up in her room at the manor)

Carina felt herself waking up and tried to remember where she'd fallen asleep. Oh! She'd been lost outside and waiting for Twinkle or James. But she wasn't there now, she could tell she was in her own bed. With a moan, she opened her eyes to see James hovering over her, a blank expression on his face. "Are you alright, Carina?" he asked, his voice as emotionless as his face.

"'m fine," she mumbled.

"Good," James said, crossing his arms. "Then tell me what the HELL you were thinking, Carina Rose Black! You weren't supposed to leave the house without me _at all_, and you weren't supposed to leave your room until I came up to talk to you!"

Carina looked away from him and shrugged uneasily.

"Not this time, Carina Rose," James said sternly. "We are _going_ to have this talk _now_."

Part of Carina wanted to react the way she had the last time he had said that, but she couldn't muster up the anger to manage it. She felt exhausted and guilty, about a variety of things, and anger was beyond her emotional capacity at the moment. "Fine," she answered quietly. "I was irritated and angry and I wasn't really thinking at all."

She heard her godfather pacing the length of her room, and the guilt surged again.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

"Are you, though?" he asked softly. "Because you sure as hell haven't been acting like it."

"I meant that I was sorry for worrying you," she answered dryly. Sighing, she propped herself up on her elbows and looked at James. "I'm not used to someone giving a damn whether I'm alive or dead, in trouble or not, or anything along those lines. I'm as new to being someone's 'kid' as you are to being someone's 'parent.' And I honestly don't get why you were so upset over the troll and duel."

James gaped at her. "You've got to be kidding!"

"I'm not," she replied defensively.

"I'm angry over the duel for multiple reasons, the least of which is the school rules you broke, the most of which is the risk to your life. I'm angry over the troll because you and your friend should have at the very least told a teacher that you were going to be staying away from the rest of the school for an entire day, and because you don't understand why it was a big deal, _and_ because you lied about it." James answered her.

"As if you've never done worse," she muttered.

"I probably have done worse," James agreed. "_But_ I did understand that what I was doing was wrong, and I certainly regretting doing it after I got caught. There are _tons_ of reasons why what you did was wrong, Carina, and plenty of reasons for you to be in a _world_ of trouble."

Carina looked away from him. Did he mean…? She bit her lip, uncertain as to what she was feeling at the moment. A hand touched her shoulder and Carina was unable to stop the automatic response developed from ten years at the Dursley's: she flinched.

"Carina?" James' voice asked worriedly, as she wouldn't look at him she didn't know if he looked as worried as he sounded. "I would never hit you, 'Rina."

"I know that," she mumbled into her pillow. "Automatic response, can't help it." This was actually true, most of the time, but she'd been able to control it and stop herself from flinching around James since a few days after she moved in with him.

She heard him sigh. "Carina, I am angry with you, _very_ angry, and you are _definitely_ in trouble, but no amount of anger is EVER going to make me hurt you."

Well, that was slightly reassuring, Carina thought to herself, turning back over and facing him. "I believe you, it's just not easy to get over things that fast," she said softly.

"I know," he said, sounding relieved and reassuring at the same time.

They were both silent for awhile, when Carina remembered exactly what James had said. A bit of unrealistic fear settled in her stomach and waited a minute to calm herself down before asking, "So what did you mean by trouble, then?"

James studied her thoughtfully. "With the exception of meals and holiday-related activities, you are grounded to your room for this holiday break."

Carina looked away again, unsure why exactly it was that she felt like crying right now. Maybe it was because if she'd gotten in trouble at the Dursley's, whether she deserved it or not, they would have locked her in the cupboard until they had to let her out, and it definitely wouldn't have been for holiday activities or meals. Maybe it was because of how obvious it was that James actually cared. Whatever it was, she wasn't sure she could stop herself from crying much longer, so she buried her head in her pillow, hoping James would get the point.

"Trying to get me to go away, are you?" he asked, sounding somewhat amused. She nodded without looking up. "All right, but do keep in mind that I will know if you decide to leave again." She nodded again, still not looking up. She heard the door open, and before she could stop herself, she looked up and blurted out, "Are we okay now?"

James smiled at her, "'Course we are, 'Rina. I'm a bit upset, and I'm sure that you are as well, but we're fine."

Carina smiled half-heartedly and laid back down as he left the room. Unable to continue to repress the urge to cry, she sobbed into her pillow silently. That was probably the only reason she had to be grateful for the Dursley's – the ability to cry silently.


	6. Christmas With The Godfather

Chapter Six: Carina Celebrates Christmas

Carina woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, which she easily figured was from all the crying she'd done the night before. She got up and got dressed before sitting back down on her bed and replaying yesterdays events in her mind as she brushed her hair. Just as she finished putting her hair into a simple high ponytail, a soft knock was heard on her bedroom door.

Blinking in surprise, she walked over and opened it. "Uncle Keith!" she squealed happily, hugging him tightly. He returned the hug for a second and released her, leaning on the doorway. "You seem to be in a good mood," he remarked casually.

Carina nearly rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what he was hinting at, and wondering if he really thought she was stupid enough to think he didn't know. "I am," she said simply. Which was the truth, if not the _whole_ truth.

"You are," he said, sounding curious.

Carina did roll her eyes this time. "If you think I haven't figured out by now that you've talked to James about yesterday, you sincerely underestimate me. Yes, I am in a good mood, for the most part. No, I am not angry at James. My emotions are slightly conflicted, but on the whole, right now I am in a good mood."

"Ah," he said thoughtfully. They were both silent for a minute and then Keith spoke up, "All right, I'm not trying to be obnoxious, but you are entirely too happy for an eleven year old that just got grounded for two weeks."

Carina glared at him. "I was in a good mood, now I'm just annoyed," she mumbled. "It's a long story that I don't particularly want to tell."

Keith grinned at her, "I guess I can accept that, but only 'cause it's you."

Carina rolled her eyes. "Don't you have somewhere else to be? I'm not your only niece, you know, and you have friends. I can't be _that_ fascinating."

Keith chuckled. "If you want me gone so badly, just say so, but I actually came up here to tell you that it's breakfast time, Rosie."

"Uncle Keith, my name is _Carina_," she said in amusement. "All right, breakfast it is."

She jogged out the door and stood in front of him. "Coming?" she teased.

Keith grinned. "Fine, _Rosie_."

She mock glared as they both ran down to the kitchen together, only to see Remus and James both half-way done eating and smirking at each other.

Keith and Carina exchanged worried looks, and there was a 'whoosh' sort of sound that Carina recognized from one of Dudders 'friends'. Without a second thought, she moved forward and to the side away from Keith to avoid the rush of whatever was about to fall on their heads.

Carina sniffed as it covered Keith, who hadn't managed to dodge, and asked incredulously, "You covered him in _lemon juice_?"

James and Remus both snickered, and James explained, "Keith hates lemons, absolutely despises them, it's the easiest way to prank him."

Keith glared, trying frantically to get all the smell out of his clothes, and Carina was unable to resist a chuckle at his expense.

Carina looked at James in shock, barely managing to stop herself from voicing her incredulity at the idea of someone actually getting her Christmas presents. Almost immediately she looked away from him, turning her eyes back to the pile of presents. She spotted one from Hermione, one from Elladora & Dorea together, one from Andrew and Ryan together, one from Uncle Keith, one from Uncle Remus, and, shockingly enough, one from Draco Malfoy. But what was more shocking than all of that together, was the three presents from James.

Sure, she knew he cared about her, she'd have to be blind to have missed it, but she hadn't really expected presents, especially after their arguments the day she came home from school.

"'Rina, what's wrong?" her godfather asked her, sounding worried.

Carina shook her head, still staring at the pile of presents.

"C'mon, talk to me," he pleaded.

Carina shrugged, made herself look at him, and hugged him, mainly so that she could cry without feeling like she was being watched. She felt him start to rub her back, and tried her hardest to make herself stop crying, succeeding within a few minutes.

"You okay now, 'Rina?" he asked softly. She shook her head. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

Carina sniffed and pulled herself out of the hug, "I was just surprised."

"Surprised?"

"Well, you've heard about the Dursley's, this is the first time I can remember actually getting presents," she mumbled. "I mean, I kinda-sorta expected my friends would get me presents, but I didn't really think it would happen, if that makes any sense at all." She sniffed again. "And I really wasn't expecting anything from you."

James looked at her in confusion. "Why on earth not?" he asked sounding completely shocked.

Carina shrugged in response.

"Oh," James sighed in realization. "Carina, it's Christmas. Of course I got you presents. You'd have to do something WAY worse than you did to get me to not give you Christmas presents. Angry and upset or not, I'm not going to ruin Christmas, especially not our first Christmas together."

Carina looked at him shyly, her hair falling front of her eyes, which she didn't try to fix, because it was kind of a comfort thing. Seeing his sincerity, she hugged him again, and whispered, "love you, James."

"I love you too, Carina," he responded, happiness evident in his tone. "You want to open those presents now?" he offered.

Carina nodded, a small smile growing on her face.

A half an hour later, there was one present left, one she hadn't noticed before. It was from James as well, but seemed different from the previous three. She saw that James looked really nervous.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

He sighed. "I'm not entirely sure it was a good idea to give you that. I'd already wrapped it by the time you came home, but…" he trailed off for a second. "I suppose I did get it at your age, but it seems ridiculously irresponsible to give you something like that at your age, and I didn't exactly have permission when I got it…"

Carina blinked in confusion.

"Just open it, I'll explain when you have," he said hastily.

Carina did so, nearly gaping at what it was. From her reading she knew _exactly_ what an invisibility cloak was, and gave a snort of amusement as she reconsidered what James had just rambled on about.

"Why is that funny?"

"I was laughing at your 'ridiculously irresponsible' comment," she explained.

"I know it is, but…" he sighed.

Carina looked between the cloak and her godfather and bit her lip. "It probably is," she conceded, nearly laughing at his shocked expression. "The possibilities are endless for the types of trouble I could get into, and I'd probably manage to get into most of them." She paused, biting her lip again and thinking. On the one hand, she'd probably have a hell of a lot of fun with it, but on the other hand, it really didn't seem like a good idea. So her sense of logic and sense of fun got to battle it out, and quickly enough, her sense of logic won out, proving once again why she was in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor. "It's probably not a good idea, at least, not at school," she said reluctantly.

James raised an eyebrow.

"All of my logic tells me that it's not a good idea to take it to school, and not only because of how much trouble I KNOW I would cause and/or get into, but also for several other reasons." Carina explained. "My sense of fun tells my logic to shut the hell up because, frankly, it would get a lot of use with that cloak. But logic wins this time… it isn't a good idea."

James looked at her for a minute and then nodded. "It's up to you. It's yours, but it's probably best that you don't take it back to school with you. Kind of funny how I took it two years before I was supposed to get it and you're responsible enough to know it isn't a good idea to do the same."

Carina giggled. "I'm not sure responsible is the right word."

"Oh?" he asked. "What is, then?"

"I dunno, cautious?" she replied. "Thinking far ahead enough to realize that in my hands, that cloak would get a lot of use and I'd probably end up getting caught, so in the long run, it's better that I don't have it at school?"

James chuckled. "You've got a point there, Carina."

They were both silent, and James asked, "Do you want anymore of dinner?"

Carina looked at him incredulously. "James, I ate more today than I've ever eaten at any other point in my life, the _last_ thing I need is more food."

He chuckled again. "All right, then, 'Rina, go up to your room."

Carina nodded and looked between him and the presents she'd gotten, "Am I supposed to carry all that stuff upstairs?"

James grinned, "_I_ probably couldn't care all of that stuff upstairs, no, I'll have Twinkle pop it up there for you in a minute or two. Whenever I gather up the energy to call her."

Carina nodded and ran up the stairs again. She didn't know why, but she loved the stairs, especially running up and down them, it was fun, for some reason that she didn't understand.

As she plopped down on her bed, Carina mentally cursed as it hit her that, for the most part, 'holiday activities' were over, and she'd be spending even more time in her room. But, before she could start to feel sorry for herself, she reminded herself that it really wasn't all that long, and she kind of _did_ deserve it… _doesn't mean I have to like it, though_, she grouched to herself as she pulled on pajamas.


	7. Idiots and fools and prats, oh my!

Chapter Seven: Carina Gets Mad

"I'm going to kill those prats!" Hermione was ranting. The rest of the girls from their dorm were laying on their beds reading, each trying to hide their amusement at Hermione's furious ranting. It wasn't going well. "Oh, stop it all of you, I know you're laughing!" Hermione snapped.

Carina looked up from her book to stare at her best friend in amusement. "Why are you going to kill the idiots this time, Miss Mia?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at the nickname and answered, "You know about Hagrid's dragon. Well, I went through with our plan and told Professor Flitwick. The _idiots_ are trying to sneak the stupid thing out of the school for Hagrid! Don't they know how dangerous that is?! Don't they know they could be expelled?"

Carina stared at Hermione for several minutes, trying to wrap her mind around the stupidity required to seriously consider pulling off a stunt like this, and then shook her head. "You've got to be joking."

Hermione shook her head. "Not joking. They really are going through with this. The fools."

"I didn't even know it was possible for anyone to be that stupid. Excepting Dudley, of course," she corrected herself, still shaking her head. "What are we going to do?"

"Let them get caught and expelled?" Elladora offered, propping herself up on her elbows with an amused grin. "I don't know why you two can't just let them get themselves expelled. They deserve it, god knows."

"No. They're idiots, fools and a thousand other of the same, but they don't deserve to be expelled," Carina countered.

Dorea sighed, standing up. "Let's go, then," she said reluctantly.

The four girls of Ravenclaw First Year Girls Dorm B went off to save the first year Gryffindor boys from their own stupidity.

"You twit!" Carina exclaimed, glaring at Ron furiously. "You absolutely pathetic, unbelievably stupid, selfish, arrogant prat! I can't believe you have the nerve to say that I want Hagrid gone! I don't want Hagrid gone, do you have any IDEA how dangerous it is to have a dragon on school grounds?!"

Elladora and Dorea were both holding Carina back as she glared furiously at the red-headed idiot known as Ronald Weasley. Hermione was stifling giggles into her hand as Carina lost her temper.

Ron backed away from her, a terrified expression on his face.

"Let go of me," Carina snapped at the twins. "I'm going to kill the little pest, let me go!"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Hermione said in amusement. "We barely managed to not get in trouble as it is, do you really want to find out how much you'd be in if you killed him?"

"His stupidity is an insult to humanity!" Carina huffed.

Dean and Seamus both tried to look like they weren't laughing at their friend for getting lectured by a girl who was being restrained by three other girls.

"I hate you, you unbelievable GIT!" Carina continued. She finally calmed a little. "I hope you enjoy your detention, Weasley. Maybe it'll get it through your thick skull that you aren't the only one who cares about Hagrid. Did you even consider that maybe we were trying to _safely_ get Norbert out of here without getting Hagrid in trouble? He's our friend too, you brainless idiot." She shook her head and stalked off, fuming.

"You know what they say about a red head's temper?" Hermione cracked a grin. "I'm pretty sure they were completely right."

"Oh, shut up, Mia," Carina said lightly. "The twit deserved that and worse."

"I totally agree, but you were scary back there," Elladora countered. "It was freaking awesome," she added with a smirk.

All four girls burst into laughter as they reached their dorm, and in an unspoken agreement, they all grabbed books and climbed onto Hermione's bed, spending the rest of the evening relaxing with books and laughter. It was the first time they were all four really, truly friends.

Apparently Ronald Weasley was good for something after all – causing everyone else to unite against him and his stupidity.

Carina shared this thought, which sent them all into yet another fit of laughter.


	8. Playing The Hero

Chapter Eight: Carina Plays The Hero

**May 5****th**** 1991**

"What the bloody hell do you mean, Weasley and Thomas thought they could do it on their own!?" Carina Black shouted at her cousin, Ryan Tonks.

"It's just, they overheard me, you, Elladora, Dorea, and Hermione talking about Quirrel going after the stone, but they thinks it's Snape, and we tried to talk them out of it, but they refused to stay put!" Ryan rambled. "It's just like with Hagrid's dragon, those gits don't know how to use their heads! Andrew went with them just to make sure they didn't kill themselves, but 'Rina, we have to do something!"

"So go tell McGonagall!" Carina cried in annoyance. "Just because they are stupid enough to think that they can take on a fully grown wizard who is possessed by Voldemort doesn't mean that I am as well! It's ridiculous, Ryan, they could be _killed_!" Carina gasped as her friends all paled.

Carina glared around. "Fine, but I'm saying here and now that I don't like this. Anyone coming with me?"

Hermione smiled shakily, "I'll go, and I think Ryan should as well, he has more influence over Weasley and Thomas than we do."

"Right, let's go then," Carina ordered, cursing herself for agreeing to this.

Later on, if asked, Carina would never be able to explain how the three of them made it to the third floor corridor without being caught, but they did. Hermione saw the dog and sang softly, as she'd researched it after their 'duel' and knew it would calm him down. Slowly but surely, the dog fell asleep, and the three of them jumped through the trapdoor.

The chess game was easily won, and Ryan easily found the key to go to the next obstacle, which both Hermione and Carina almost instantly figured out. Only two of them would be able to go on, so Ryan and Carina asked Hermione to go back and send for a teacher or the headmaster. Hermione left, and Carina and Ryan both took the potion and went through the fire.

The sight there was not something that they were pleased to see. Weasley, who had led the entire thing, had been knocked out during the first trio's chess game, and Thomas was cowering in a corner, while Quirrel-Voldemort had Andrew in his grasp.

Carina growled. "Get your filthy paws OFF of my cousin!" she snarled, drawing attention to herself as Ryan went to Thomas.

"Ah, Black," Quirrel said smoothly, pretty much throwing Andrew off to the side. "Just who I wanted to see. Tell me, Girl, are you proud of what you did to my master?"

"Damn right I am," she snarled, her heart pounding in her chest as she realized that she'd just gotten all of Quirrel-Voldemort's attention focused on her and her friends were being blocked away from helping her.

"_Let me speak to the girl_."

"But Master, you're not strong en – "

"_I have strength enough for this_."

Carina pushed her fear into the back of her mind, trying to figure out what she was doing to do to get out of this situation… and how she was going to explain it if she did. Voldemort taunted her, and as if on auto-pilot, she taunted him right back, numbness seeping into her. There was a mirror, she could see, but it wasn't a normal mirror, and she felt herself drawn to it.

Ignoring Voldemort, she stepped in front of it and gasped at what she saw before it flickered to her keeping the Philosopher's Stone safe from Voldemort.

It had been her, with a few kids she didn't recognize that looked a lot like her, and her parents, plus James, Keith and Remus. All happy, all healthy. She forced herself to look away as she felt the stone actually land in her pocket, and her attention was drawn to the writing on the top of it.

_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_

_I show not your face but your hearts desire_

"That explains it," she whispered.

Voldemort was talking again, she realized. "She has the stone! The girl has the stone!"

Carina's eyes widened in horror. "Kill her!" Voldemort's voice hissed, and Quirrel ran towards her. The instant he touched her, though, he drew back as if shocked. On his finger, where he'd made to grab her, there was a burn mark.

An idea lit on Carina's mind, and as Quirrel turned back to try again, she knew it was her only chance. As he attacked her, she put her hands on his face and focused her energy on stopping the monster _now_.

The last thing Carina knew before she passed out was that Voldemort had disappeared from Quirrel, and Quirrel was basically a pile of ashes.

Opening her eyes, Carina felt as if she'd been sleeping for many days, after a severe beating at the hands of Vernon Dursley.

It took a second to remember the magical world, moving in with James, going to Hogwarts, and finally, going after Weasley when he went after the stone.

She had killed Quirrel.

Without a thought, she leaned over the side of the bed and hurled. Coughing, she tried to stop the urge to puke again, only to fail and empty whatever contents of her stomach on the floor once again.

She felt a hand rubbing her back, but she couldn't do anything but lean her face against the bed and sob at the memory.

A voice was whispering soothing words to her, probably the voice that belonged to the hands rubbing her back and holding her hair out of her face.

After a moment, Carina realized who the voice was. "James?" she asked hoarsely.

"Yeah, 'Rina, it's me. You gave me a real fright there," he answered.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"From what I've heard, it isn't your fault," James answered dryly. "It was the fault of Ron Weasley and Dean Thomas, if I've heard correctly."

Carina resisted the urge to start crying again. "I shouldn't have gone after them, I should have just gotten a teacher and told them what the idiots were doing, but Ryan was so worried and I said they were stupid 'cause they could be killed, which made him and everyone else even more worried, and I couldn't just say no and leave Andrew when they were all looking at me like that…" she trailed off, once again crying, leaning against James and sobbing, unable to help herself.

When Carina woke up again, it was night, or at least very early morning, judging by how dark it was in the hospital wing.

It must have been early morning, though, because James, Remus, Keith, Professor Flitwick and Professor Dumbledore were all talking nearby. She couldn't hear them, but she could see them, so she figured they had a silencing charm up.

Uneasily, she stood up and walked over to them, needing to talk to James. She tapped his shoulder and he spun around in surprise. "'Rina, you're awake," he sounded happy.

She nodded and bit her lip. He stood up and pulled her into a hug, which was all she needed to lose control again. After a few minutes of crying, she whispered, "I wanna go home, James. Please."

She could feel his uncertainty, but she couldn't stay here right now, she couldn't! "Please James, don't make me stay here right now."

"All right, 'Rina, we can go home," he relented. "I'll have Twinkle get your things, and we can Floo straight home if that will make you happy."

She nodded into his chest, not willing to give up the comfort of her godfathers embrace.


	9. Healing Begins

**Chapter Nine: Carina Starts To Heal**

Upon arriving home, Carina locked herself in her room, only coming out for meals and refusing to talk to anyone. She knew that more often than not, Keith and Remus were trying to help James help her, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

She had killed a man. She had known that her touch would burn him and she had smothered him. In self defense or no, Carina couldn't believe she'd done it. It was insane, she knew that it had been the only real choice, and she knew that if Quirrel-Voldemort had killed her, he'd probably have gone on to kill her cousins and Thomas as well.

But all the logic in the world didn't make it hurt any less, didn't make her feel any better about the fact that she had _killed_.

It was just over a week after she'd returned home that she heard a knock on her door, which, as had become usual, she ignored, burying her head into her pillow and wishing he'd just go away.

Unfortunately for her, her godfather was stubborn, and had every intent of talking to her.

"'Rina?"

Carina was silent.

"'Rina, please just talk to me," James pleaded. "I want to help you and I can't do that when you're locked up in here refusing to talk to anyone."

"You want to help?" Carina shouted tearfully. "Go back in time and stop Thomas and Weasley from being arrogant idiots so that I don't end up _killing_ Quirrel! Go back in time and prevent me from becoming a _murderer_!"

"You are NOT a murderer," James said firmly. "You killed him, yes, but it was in self-defense and the defense of your friends… not to mention, the stress of Voldemort leaving his body after all that time would have killed Quirrel anyway."

"He'd have died anyway?" Carina asked softly.

"The minute Voldemort left his body," James confirmed.

"But Voldemort didn't leave his body until Quirrel was already almost dead," Carina said sadly. "He, he was going to die if Voldemort had left him, but Voldemort hadn't left him when he died!"

James frowned. "Carina, anyway the events had played out that night, Quirrel would have died. He didn't stand a chance after Voldemort possessing him for so long. You did what you had to do to get yourself and your friends out of a dangerous situation, and that's not something you should ever regret. I would be worried, really worried, if you didn't feel a bit conflicted about Quirrel, but you _did the right thing_."

"You think so?" Carina asked.

"Very much so," James assured her.

Carina bit her lip, trying to stop herself from crying. Was James right? Had she really done the right thing? She felt James hug her, probably trying to make her feel better, but she… right now, she needed to cry. She needed to cry for what she'd lost when she'd killed Quirrel. She needed to cry for the bit of innocence that had died with Quirrel.

So she did.

And it helped, a lot. Even if it didn't make everything better, it _did_ help.

"You going to come out of your room once in awhile now?" James teased her after she was done crying.

She gave a half-smile at her godfather. "I guess…"

"You guess?" James asked with a frown.

"I'm not going to make promises, 'cause I can't guarantee I'll keep them," Carina shrugged. "But I do intend to start spending time out of my room, and to try to move on. Just no promises."

James grinned at her and hugged her again.


	10. Trapped Like A Rat

**Chapter Ten: Carina Catches The Rat**

"James?"

"Yeah, 'Rina?"

Carina barely managed not to roll her eyes at her godfather. Whatever it was that he was reading must have been really interesting, because he didn't even look up when he responded to her. "Can I go visit Uncle Keith?"

"'Course you can, Rosie," James answered absent-mindedly.

"James, my name is _Carina_," Carina reminded him irritably. "And I hope you remember that you said I could go when you pull your head out of that book." Getting no response, she _did_ roll her eyes and Floo'd to Keith's.

"Uncle Keith, my godfather is an ass," Carina informed Keith upon finding him in his study. Apparently the world had gone insane and not only was James reading, but Keith was as well. She wasn't entirely sure that this was real. Maybe it was a dream, it was certainly odd enough.

Nope, Keith put the book down and looked amused. "What did James do?"

"He's _reading_!" Carina shouted in annoyance. "Do you know how much be pesters me about my loving to read?! And then he gets upset when I get into a book and ignore him, but now he's doing the same thing! This is James Potter who thinks books are pure evil meant to corrupt innocent young minds!" she ranted, imitating James from 'books are pure evil meant to corrupt innocent young minds.'

Keith chuckled. "Very apt imitation."

"Can I stay here until James gets his sanity back?" she pleaded. "I feel like I've entered the twilight zone every time I see him reading! It's just… weird!"

"I would say that you could, but I have to go pick up Elladora and Dorea from the Weasley's, and then let them wreck havoc around here for a few hours before taking them back to Andromeda."

"I'll go with you, then, just don't make me go back there and watch the world stop spinning!" she begged.

"It's not _that_ bad," Keith said, grinning.

"Yes it is," Carina said fervently. "I mean, he's my godfather and I love him, but seeing him read is like… a bad omen or something."

"Have you been reading divination books?" Keith asked disgustedly.

"I have read a grand total of two divination books, one of which was utter crap that put me off of the subject for life, the other of which basically said that divination isn't something you can learn, it's something you either have or you don't." Carina retorted. "And I meant a bad omen as in the muggle sort, like seeing that is so weird that something bad has to be coming!"

"All right, you can come with me," Keith said. "I'm leaving in about five minutes, so you'll have to keep yourself entertained for that long, you think you can manage?"

Carina rolled her eyes at this, and pulled a miniature book out of her pocket, it enlarging as soon as it was completely out. Remus had cast the charm for her because James had been too busy gaping at her in horror when she'd asked to do it himself. It was kind of funny that someone who was capable of being so mature lost all signs of maturity at the idea of reading a book.

Having read a few sentences, she heard Keith ask her in a disbelieving voice, "You're reading about Ancient Runes? At not-even-twelve? Merlin, I thought they were dead boring at thirteen through seventeen and did my best to avoid them after the NEWTs!"

"Knowledge is power," Carina said in a snooty voice, and then giggled. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself, that's what Hermione and I did to Weasley when he made fun of us for reading the third or fourth time, told him knowledge is power and he's a squib."

Keith snorted. "You girls are far too good with insults for your own good."

Carina snickered and went back to reading. Just as she reached the end of the chapter, Keith spoke up again. "Ready to go, Rosie?"

"Yes, I'm ready, and if it weren't for underage magic laws, I would hex you for calling me that," she growled at him.

"Aw, but Carina, you let James call you 'Rina, and Remus call you Flower, so why don't I get my own nickname for you as well?" he pouted.

Carina scowled and answered, "The lot of you keep calling me 'pup', but I guess you can call me Rosie. Beware, though, anyone else who does will be hexed. Very violently. Repetitively. Without mercy. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am, Mistress Black!" Keith saluted.

Carina scowled again and Keith told her, "The Floo address is 'the burrow' and I know you've Floo'd before, so I don't need to explain, right?"

"Right," Carina said, taking a handful of Floo powder and throwing it in the fire. "The Burrow!"

Carina stumbled out of the Floo and grimaced. "Merlin, I hate Floo…" she mumbled, waiting for Keith to come through. He did so a moment later, not even stumbling once and rather graceful. "I hate you, Uncle Keith," she scowled.

"Love you too, Rosie," he grinned. "Molly!" he called, "Where are you?"

Molly Weasley entered the room. "Hello, Keith, dear. The girls are out in the garden, I think they are trying to pester Ron into leaving them alone, which is fighting a losing battle, but it's their choice."

Carina snorted. "No kidding."

"Pardon me, dear?" Molly asked. "Carina Black?" she asked in shock.

"I hate that reaction," Carina mumbled. "That would be me," she agreed. "And I said that trying to convince W – Ron of anything he doesn't want to do is fighting a losing battle."

"You seem to know my son well," Molly said thoughtfully.

Carina was unable to stop herself from scowling. "Your son and I don't exactly get along," she explained, understating the situation to the extreme. "The first time he met he was teasing my best friend and I about being bookworms, and we never really got past that. I'm sure he's not that bad of a guy," she lied through her teeth, "But we just don't get along."

"That boy," Molly tsk'ed, shaking her head. She turned to the nearest window and yelled out, "Ron! Ginny! Elladora and Dorea! Keith is here for you, girls!"

Twin shouts of 'uncle Keith' were heard as a stampede of ten-eleven-twelve year olds stormed into the house. The two Lestrange girls attacked Keith in a hug and started pestering him with questions.

"It's good to see you, too, Ella, 'Rea," Carina interrupted them in a dry tone.

"Carina!" they shouted in return, now hugging her instead of Keith. Keith and Molly backed off to give the group of kids a bit of space to talk and such.

"Hello, Weasley," Carina distastefully greeted Ron. "You have a sister? Is she more sane than your brothers?"

"We're all sane, Black," Ronald retorted, holding something that was squeaking frantically in his left hand.

"What is that?" Carina asked him, eyeing his left hand in concern.

"Scabbers, my rat," Ron told her. "Scabbers, for Merlin's sake, calm down! I know she's annoying but she isn't going to _hurt_ you!"

"Can I see him?" Carina asked, her heart beating fast as she wondered if it was possible that what she was thinking was true.

"Sure," Ron agreed, passing the rat over to her.

Carina's heart skipped a beat. In her hands was the reason she didn't have parents, the reason James had spent a decade in Azkaban, the reason she'd spent a decade with the Dursley's. Her grip tightened on the rat until it was frantically trying to get away. "Keith!" Carina shouted, trying to keep a hold on Scabbers-Pettigrew.

"What's wrong, Carina?" Keith asked, walking over with a concerned expression.

"Tell me if this rat is who I think it is," she asked in a shaky tone.

Keith looked at the rat and his eyes widened in shock. "Sweet Merlin," he breathed. "Sweet Merlin, right here for all these years, right in front of our faces…"

Carina handed the rat to her uncle. "Keep him away from me, I've got enough blood on my hands as it is." She said dangerously.

Keith nodded. "I have to go to the ministry, Carina, can you, Ella, and 'Rea Floo to your house and I'll meet you in awhile?"

Carina looked at the Lestrange twins, who shrugged, and nodded to Keith. "We can do that. It's probably best that James doesn't know where he is until he's in ministry custody."

Keith snorted in agreement and waited at the Burrow until all three girls had Floo'd away before going to the ministry.

**CRBCRBCRBCRBCRB**

A few days later, Pettigrew was in Azkaban in the same cell James had spent ten years. Hopefully, Pettigrew would be there much longer.

Carina collapsed into bed with a sigh. It had been one hell of a year…


End file.
